Speak for Yourself - SFY

SFY is a communication app created by speech language pathologists.  This app turns an iPad into a communication device for those who need a voice, including young children.  http://www.speakforyourself.org/

10 Special Needs Apps recently Added to Special Needs App Review

from Friendship Circle Blog,  By Lauren Lewis on Jan 31, 2014 

The Friendship Circle’s Special Needs App Review aims to make it easier for you to find the right special needs app. Below are some of the apps uploaded in the month of January. Have a special needs app? Submit it here.  http://www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2014/01/31/10-special-needs-apps-recently-added-to-the-special-needs-app-review/?utm_source=Friendship+Circle+Blog&utm_campaign=c78282272f-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3ec270b4ae-c78282272f-199142745

App guides parents in teaching children with autism to communicate

University of Nebraska psychology professor Keith Allen had developed a smartphone application called MySocius to support parents when working with their children with autism who are nonverbal. The app coaches parents on how to use motivators to prompt more speech throughout the day in real-life situations. "This is designed to help get kids communicating themselves, not letting the device communicate for them," Allen said. Lincoln Journal Star (Neb.) (tiered subscription model) (1/18)

AutisMate app helps those with autism build sentences visually

The AutisMate iPad application designed for children with autism uses a visual language of familiar scenes to help users communicate nonverbally. Clicking on simplified icons allows such children to build a sentence, for example, and the app incorporates interactive pictures of the user's actual environment to go beyond the abstract. All Things D (1/28) http://allthingsd.com/20130128/brotherly-love-prompts-young-entrepreneurs-autism-app/

Happy New Year! Progress that Has Been Made

I feel that much progress has been made in the field of disabilities in last year & before that.  While there is much still to be done, I would like to celebrate the successes made by individuals, groups & companies.

I encourage you to make a comment about successes that you, or a child or friend have made.  I will post those comments so that we can learn from your or their experiences.  I am particularly interest in stories about the use of Apps, assistive technology and websites that you have found useful.

2 communication-assisting apps show promise

In this blog post, edutech entrepreuneur Sramana Mitra highlights three startup tablet application developers who are making inroads in the educational technology market. Two of the apps, Avaz from India and MyChoicePad from the U.K., were developed to help individuals with disabilities learn to communicate through pictures. Mitra writes that these apps help fill a market need but are also more expensive when compared to other apps. Small Business Trends (12/27)  http://smallbiztrends.com/2012/12/edu-tech-rife-with-innovation.html 

Text-to-speech app likely to return amid legal settlement

A popular assistive-technology mobile application likely will return to the market after a settlement was agreed to last week in a legal dispute over patent rights. The decision to halt sales of the text-to-speech app -- known as Speak for Yourself -- earlier this year was met with protests by a group of parents who said the tool provided a voice for their children with disabilities. Disability Scoop (10/16)  http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2012/10/16/once-banned-app-to-return/16655/

Technology opens the world for a girl with autism

• Carly Fleischmann had been diagnosed with autism at age 2 and didn't learn to communicate with the world until she slowly learned to use the computer keyboard at age 10. Today, the teenager uses technology to communicate on social media and raise awareness about living with autism; she and her father tell their story in new book, "Carly's Voice: Breaking Through Autism." Wired.com/GeekMom blog (7/12)  http://www.wired.com/geekmom/2012/07/technology-bridges-autism/ 

Apps are helping children with autism to communicate

Using the Proloquo2Go application, which helps those who have difficulty speaking, a girl in the United Kingdom who has autism is able to "communicate with her teachers, her family and other children," writes Rory Cellan-Jones. It's an example of "how life-enhancing the right technology can be," he writes. Some teachers are even developing apps to suit the specific needs of children, Cellan-Jones adds. BBC (7/4)   http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18694168

Engineer, father creates assistive software app

"Verbal Victor" is a new mobile application for the iPhone, iPod Touch or the iPad tablet computer that uses a combination of pictures and words to help users communicate. The app was created by Paúl Pauca -- a computer science engineer and associate professor at Wake Forest University -- whose son, Victor, has Pitt Hopkins Syndrome, which limits his ability to communicate. Star-News (Wilmington, N.C.)/Endless Options for All Disabilities blog (5/29) http://disabilities.blogs.starnewsonline.com/11945/wake-forest-university-engineer-gives-back-to-disability-communitty-through-app-creation/

Apps for Communities Challenge Winners Announced

The Federal Communications Commission and the Knight Foundation recently announced the names of the winners of the Apps for Communities Challenge. Developers and citizens from across the country were challenged to develop apps (software applications for mobile phones and other devices) that help make local public information more usable and accessible. The competition winner is YAKB.us. One of the runners up is Access Together, which can be used on a mobile phone’s web browser to find your location, and get answers to accessibility questions such as “Is the entrance wheelchair accessible?”  http://www.fcc.gov/blog/apps-communities-challenge-winners-announced

App enables speech in individuals who are nonverbal

A mobile application developed by two students at the University of Toronto is helping give voice to individuals with disabilities who are nonverbal. The MyVoice app, which now has more than 12,000 users worldwide, allows individuals to type sentences that are then relayed using computer-generated speech. The app also features GPS technology that allows the generation of vocabulary that is unique to a user's location. CBC.ca (Canada) (5/8)  http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/05/04/f-myvoice-speech-aid-disability.html

KU grads create mobile app to help people with Asperger’s

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/oct/28/ku-grads-create-mobile-app-help-people-aspergers/

By Mark Fagan — Lawrence Journal-World October 28, 2011

Psychologists who earned their degrees at Kansas University are taking their work into the mobile world, offering applications for autistic kids, teens, young adults & their families to use on iPad, iPhone & iPod Touch devices.

The applications — Sosh, Sosh Lite & an increasing number of their component parts — are available through Apple’s iTunes App Store & already have been downloaded by 5,000 people in the United States and 22 other countries.

The apps are designed to help people with Asperger’s syndrome improve their social skills by giving them tools they can use at school, in restaurants & other places outside of their homes, therapist’s offices & other structured environments. The full version of the application offers 60 screens that help users interact with people, reduce stress, manage behaviors, think through problems and understand their feelings.

Among the most popular segments, which have been spun off into smaller apps of their own: “The Shredder,” which allows the user to describe a negative situation using text, then drag it down into an audible and visible shredder for destruction; and a voice meter that allows users to regulate how loud they talk, something that can be a challenge for people with Asperger’s.

The app also provides feedback, giving users and families information that can help users manage their condition and improve their social skills.

New NICHCY App Helps Smartphone Users Find Disability Information

The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) is now offering a free app (application) for Android phone users called DisAbilityConnect. With just a tap of your finger, you can find contact information for organizations offering resources on disabilities, special education, early intervention, support groups and more    http://nichcy.org/

Announcing the Release of DisAbility Connect

NICHCY has just the app for you - DisAbilityConnect! Find the contact information for organizations providing information on disabilities, special education, early intervention, support groups, and many more with just a tap of your finger! 
you can download it from:

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.amdee.disabilityconnect

We are pleased to offer this useful application for free! It is currently only available for Android smart phones.